Lovers of the humor essay can rejoice. David Sedaris is on tour promoting his latest collection, “Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls.” Mlive recently conducted an interview with the beloved satirist and he was very revealing about how he approaches writing about personal topics such as his husband and family.

1. Mlive Interviews David Sedaris

2. Lovers of the humor essay can rejoice.
David Sedaris is on tour promoting his
latest collection, “Let’s Explore Diabetes
with Owls.” Mlive recently conducted an
interview with the beloved satirist and he
was very revealing about how he
approaches writing about personal
topics such as his husband and family.
When discussing his husband, Hugh,
Sedaris says that he understands that
nothing truly embarrassing will ever be
written about him. “I’m not going to
describe what he looks like naked or
anything.” Sedaris says. What he does
find challenging is what could be termed
a slight lack of enthusiasm on the part of
Hugh, who can be something of a
“killjoy.” Hugh seeks perfection, but
Sedaris never thought he “had a shot at
perfection.”

3. Sedaris speaks of the seemingly
disparate personal events he relates to
one another in the span of a few pages.
He contrasts his style with that of “This
American Life” - a show he has
appeared on many times - where stories
cut right to the chase. Sedaris compares
his own writing to The Simpsons, which
he loves for the fact that “you watch the
first 4-5 minutes, and you have no idea
where the show is going.”
Sedaris also discusses the article he
wrote for the New Yorker, “Now We Are
Five” about the death of his sister,
Tiffany. He says that while he does not
consider writing cathartic, he does use
writing to make sense out of the
senseless. He discusses how his family
dealt with their grief and how no one
barred him from publishing the story, for
which he is very grateful.

4. To read more about Sedaris’s feelings
on race, writing and why he dedicated
this new book to his sister Amy, check
out the original article at Mlive.